Is Greg Maddux [Aspirations] #5 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1998 Donruss Elite · full price guide →

Grading rarely pays for this card

Grade 9.5 copies of Greg Maddux [Aspirations] #5 sell for $8.00, only $1.99 above the $6.01 raw price — less than an economy-tier grading fee. A PSA 9 ($7.50) only about breaks even after fees, so the case rests on gemming. Keep it raw unless you are grading for the slab itself.

Raw (NM): $6.01
Grade 9.5: $8.00
PSA 9: $7.50
Gem premium: 1.3×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Greg Maddux [Aspirations] #5: net result of grading versus selling raw, by outcome and fee tier
If it comes back…	Sells for	Economy / bulk (~$25.00)	Standard (~$50.00)	Express (~$150)
Gem — Grade 9.5	$8.00	−$23.01	−$48.01	−$148
PSA 9	$7.50	−$23.51	−$48.51	−$149

Net = sale price − $6.01 raw value − fee. Fee tiers are illustrative; plug your grader's current price into the calculator below.

Expected value — how often does it need to gem?

Greg Maddux [Aspirations] #5: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$7.63	−$48.38
50%	$7.75	−$48.26
75%	$7.88	−$48.13

At the standard fee this submission does not break even at any realistic gem rate unless the miss lands above the 9 price.

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Raw conditions & history →

Greg Maddux [Aspirations] #5 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$8.00
9	$7.50

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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